Investigation into the X-Radiation Effect on the Structure and Microhardness of the Tungsten Powder-Filled Composite

Abstract

The radiation resistance of a composite material filled with finely dispersed tungsten powder with a particle size of 200–500 nm is investigated. A new composite is intended to provide the radiation protection for electronic radio equipment. The sample with the material under study is irradiated by continuous-spectrum X-ray radiation to the absorbed dose of 3 MGy. The variation in the sample microhardness before and after X-ray irradiation serves as the radiation-resistance characteristic. The microstructure of the transverse sample cleavage after irradiation is investigated by scanning electron microscopy and the absence of visible structural defects is established. This result can be explained by uniform energy scattering from local stresses due to a high degree of composite filling with the tungsten powder possessing a high heat-conductivity coefficient. A 10% increase in microhardness of the irradiated sample is revealed during the investigation, which can be explained by the radiation strengthening effect, when the simultaneous rise in microhardness occurs with an increase in strength. It is established experimentally that this effect manifests itself with an increase in the absorbed radiation dose.